New Star Trek Video Game Trailer Shows Why 2013 Is Going To Be An Epic Year For Trekkers

John Gaudiosi
, ContributorI've been covering video games, Hollywood and technology for 20 yearsOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

LAS VEGAS -- Trekkers are in for an epic year of Star Trek in 2013. First up is Star Trek, the video game, from Paramount Pictures and Namco Bandai. In development by game studio Digital Extremes, the new game is slated to ship for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Q1. The new game is a precursor to director J.J. Abrams’ much-anticipated Star Trek II movie, which will hit theaters in 3D May 17, 2013 from Paramount Pictures.

Namco Bandai, which has come in as a publishing partner and distributor of the new game, debuted the Star Trek game in 3D at its Global Gamers Day in Las Vegas last week. Running on NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, the live game demo featured cooperative gameplay featuring Spock and Kirk on two giant screens in front of 200 members of the press wearing 3D glasses. And it went off without a hitch.

The fact that Star Trek, the game, like the new movie, will be in 3D is cool in itself. But the Hollywood studio has been taking a very traditional approach to the game’s development. Rather than rushing a haphazard game out the door in tandem with Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, the studio has given Digital Extremes plenty of time to develop a shooter that, so far, looks like an innovative game. In other words, Star Trek could end up doing in the game world what the movie reboot has already done in Hollywood – make Gene Roddenberry’s creation cool and relevant again for a wide audience.

I first saw the Star Trek game at E3 last year in a small booth with co-op gameplay running on small HD TVs. This newest demo, even taking away the 3D glitz (and this 3D looked good from every angle), showed how much polish the team has been able to add to the game since then. What’s cool about the co-op gameplay is that the experience will be unique for each player. So one could play through as Spock and beat the game, and then play through as Kirk and get a different take on the action. Everything from their weapons (which are upgradable) to their special attacks are different – taking into account what makes Spock and Kirk so different as space explorers.

We already know what Abrams and company can do with this franchise on the film side. And they’re involved in the new game, as well. Paramount is using the game as a virtual bridge between the two movies, offering an original story that was conceived by the writers/producers of the movies Bob Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof and written by God of War game scribe Marianne Krawczyk. The game also features the likenesses of lead actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto and is expected to include their voices, as well.

The Star Trek demo in Vegas was just a tease of what’s to come at E3, where Star Trek will be given a huge promotional push by Namco Bandai. No longer relegated to a side hall, this game will be front and center for all to see. And it’s shaping up to be the rare Hollywood license that delivers on its promise.